Calculate your take-home pay
$
$
$
Your take-home breakdown
Take-home pay
$0
per year
Effective total tax rate
0%
of gross income
SE tax
$0
15.3% on 92.35%
Federal income tax
$0
after SE deduction
Full breakdown
| Gross income | $0 |
| − Business expenses | $0 |
| Net self-employment income | $0 |
| − SE tax (15.3% × 92.35%) | $0 |
| − Federal income tax | $0 |
| Take-home pay | $0 |
Why freelance take-home pay is lower than it looks
When a client pays you $5,000, that's not $5,000 in your pocket. You owe self-employment tax (~14.1% effective rate) plus federal income tax on your net income. Together, these can take 25–35% of your gross income depending on your earnings level.
The good news: every legitimate business expense reduces your net income — which reduces both taxes. Tracking mileage, software, equipment, and your home office can meaningfully increase your actual take-home pay.
Pro tip: Use this calculator in reverse — if you need to take home $X, work backwards to find the project rate you actually need to charge after taxes.